


Why Doctor Poole Gave Agent Barton an Extra Check-Up

by Blackrose197666



Series: Why... [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Developing Relationship, Doctor Poole, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 13:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5419349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackrose197666/pseuds/Blackrose197666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part three in the "Why" series. After suffering an injury in the field Clint is treated by a new doctor - who is a lot better looking than any other medic Clint has had the displeasure of being treated by...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to Why Clint Has Never Tried It On With Natasha and Why Tony Should Not Interfere With Clint’s Love Life. It takes place during and after the second to last chapter of the latter story but before the final chapter. Now I ain’t a doctor so may be taking some liberties with the medical side but just bear with me please – it’ll be worth it.

The day was dragging. With a heavy sigh Doctor Cayden Poole returned his samples to the fridge and stacked the files next to his nearby workstation. Glancing up at the clock he blinked in surprise at the time staring back at him. Rolling his neck Cayden ran a hand through his hair and turned toward the door – he could not face looking at any more research for the moment.

The doctor stepped out into the corridor and started to turn left but barely made it two steps before he stopped. Now that he had left the sanctity of his little research lab food and a nap sounded good. Glancing back over his shoulder however he looked in the direction of the administrative office. He really should go and get an update before going into hiding for a couple of hours…

Turning on his heel Cayden made his way towards admin, knocking on the door briskly before stepping into the office.

“Good evening Sarah.”

“Hi Doctor Poole,” the woman behind the desk offered him a smile. “I thought you left hours ago.”

Cayden offered a sheepish shrug.

“Lost track of time,” he muttered, smirking as Sarah just rolled her eyes at him. “I’m going now. Anything I should know about before I go?”

“No… everything’s calm. Just one agent came in a little while ago with a laceration to the chest.”

Cayden gave a small nod, rubbing his face tiredly.

“Good. Who’s dealing with the laceration?”

“Let me check…” the woman clicked away at her keyboard for a moment before a slight frown pulled on her brow. “Hmmm. Doesn’t say…” she pushed away from her desk and wheeled back toward the desk behind her, reaching for a file in one of the numerous apparently colour coded letter trays. “I’m sorry… I was through back for a while… I presumed someone had come and got this.”

Cayden’s brow furrowed heavily.

“So _no one_ is dealing with it?” he asked, more to himself than to Sarah – it was not her job to chase up the doctors, merely let them know when someone arrived which according to the markings on the front of the folder she handed him she had. The doctor flicked open the file and rolled his eyes. “No. No one will be dealing with this one,” he forced a smile back onto his face and turned it to Sarah. “Thanks. I’ll see to it.”

“I thought you were leaving?” she replied with a slight, knowing arch of the eyebrow. Cayden shrugged, half way to the door already.

“Can’t leave when one of SHIELDs top assassins is sitting in medical with an apparently open chest wound,” he replied, giving a wave over his shoulder as he disappeared out the door, reading the file as he went. Making his way briskly down the corridor he paused outside of the doctor’s lounge. Sure enough his three colleagues who were supposed to be on duty were all gathered round a table talking away happily. Cayden cleared his throat loudly. “Does anyone want to explain to me why you’re all sitting on your assess when we have an agent with an open chest wound sitting down the hall?”

Three pairs of eyes snapped towards the doorway, a brief flitter of panic and guilt quickly replaced by more defiant expressions.

“The call said it had pretty much stopped bleeding,” one of them replied blandly. Cayden blinked.

“Pretty much st…” he shook his head in disbelief, unable to complete the sentence. One of the other doctors shrugged.

“If he was in that much trouble his girlfriend would have kicked up a fuss by now.”

Cayden clenched his jaw.

“In future I expect _everyone_ coming in here to be seen promptly, do you understand? The only time an injury like this should be left unattended is if there are other agents coming in with _limbs hanging off_ – even if the agent in question is Agent Barton,” he set an unwavering glare on the other three doctors. “And you had better hope this wound does not go sceptic because do not think for one minute that I won’t tell Director Fury _why_ one of his top assassins is off duty for longer than necessary.”

With one last disgruntled sigh Cayden turned and continued down the corridor. He could hear the other doctors muttering behind him but he did not bother to strain to make out what they were saying. Glancing at the file he checked what room the injured agent had been sent to. Making his way down the corridor to the specified room, he slowed slightly as he approached. The door was slightly ajar, allowing him to step into the doorway silently. Agent Barton sat on the bed with his head bowed, fingers drumming against the mattress. Off to the side stood a female the doctor guessed to be Agent Romanov, an amused smile gracing her lips as she watched her colleague. So… these were the infamous Hawkeye and Black Widow…

“Hi, sorry I was delayed,” Cayden stepped forward into the room, offering agent Romanov a quick smile as both agents looked up startled. He turned towards the agent sitting on the bed and despite himself found the smile widening. "I’m Dr Poole," he picked up the chart at the foot of the bed as Agent Barton gave a small nod. “So…” Cayden arched an eyebrow as he skimmed over the details. “The infamous Agent Barton. It's a pleasure to finally meet you – I’ve heard a lot about you."

Agent Barton let out a wry laugh.

"Don't believe everything you hear,” the archer grumbled, casting his gaze down to the floor. Cayden’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.

"No? Shame - I was actually impressed by most of it," he forced the frown from his face and met the archer’s dubious gaze. "I hear you like to terrorize the new recruits."

"I don't terrorize,” Agent Barton replied with a faint shrug, a little of the tension draining from his shoulders. “I just put them in their place.”

Cayden laughed.

"Well someone has to. Some of them are far too cocky," he gestured towards the agent’s chest, noting the angry tears on the fabric of his vest and the red that seeped through underneath. “Can you remove your top without aggravating the wound so we can have a proper look?”

“Eh… yeah…” Clint shuffled slightly on the bed, tentatively peeling his shirt away from his damaged skin. Cayden briefly let his eyes wonder over the muscled arms and defined shoulders as the top was removed before returning his attention to the wound.

“Hmmm… nasty,” the doctor’s eyebrow arched as he gave the wound a proper inspection before turning back to pick up supplies from the table behind him. Sure enough it appeared to have stopped bleeding although it looked pretty deep. “What happened?”

“Iron Man,” came the simple reply. Cayden blinked in surprise but the casual tone of the reply told him it had obviously been an accident.

“Friendly fire? Ow,” the doctor pulled a face as he slipped on a pair of sterile gloves, glancing back over his shoulder at the archer. “Well it looks like a clean enough wound. I’ll just give you a shot for the pain, wash it out and stitch you back up, ok?” he turned and offered the other man a smile, unable to resist running his eyes over the agent’s chest again. “I’ll try and not leave a scar.”

Agent Barton simply gave a small nod as Cayden took a gentle hold of his arm to inject his selected painkillers. Taking a step back the doctor gave a small shake of his head, mentally chastising himself as he found his eyes drifting again. Laying the needle onto the tray beside him the doctor glanced up to where Agent Romanov stood, hoping she had not caught him eyeing up his patient – who happened to be at least a very good friend of hers, more than that if the rumour mill was to be believed. He blinked in surprise as he found her smirking at him, eyebrow arched knowingly. Offering a quick wink the female silently spun on her heel and left the room. Again Cayden blinked before allowing his gaze to drift back to the bare shoulders next to him. Perhaps the rumour mill had this one wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

Clint inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to maintain a calm expression as the doctor turned away to dispose of the needle he had just used to inject the painkillers. He really wanted to blame the woozy feeling seeping through him on the large tear in his chest but he was finding it harder and harder to do that. Closing his eyes briefly he inhaled deeply and looked toward the doorway, expecting to find Natasha looking at him with a knowing/smug/amused expression. The archer blinked in surprise as he found her missing. Looking around the room he realised that she was completely gone. When had she snuck away?

“So… would I be right in guessing a laser was involved?” the doctor reappeared in front of Clint, leaning over and giving the wound another inspection. Clint nodded mutely as he turned his attention back to the medic.

“Eh, yeah…” he managed to reply. Doctor Poole nodded, stepping back slightly.

“Well the good news is that the heat kind of sealed the edges and means you won’t have lost that much blood. Bad news…” the doctor gently placed his fingers either side of the gash and carefully pushed the two sides together. If Clint gave a small shudder he would blame it on… surprise. “It’s going to be stretched a bit tight,” Doctor Poole took a step back again. “I will try my best to make sure it doesn’t scar.”

Clint scoffed quietly, shrugging a shoulder.

“Not like I haven’t got a few of those already,” he commented, glancing over at the doctor. The other man’s lips curled into a smile as his eyes roamed back down to the wound.

“Even so…” he replied before giving a small shake of the head and turning back to collect his supplies. Clint blinked rapidly but quickly gave a shake of his own head. “So…” Doctor Poole exhaled as he turned back towards Clint with a more neutral expression than that he had worn before. “Am I allowed to ask what happened?”

The archer rolled his eyes

“Stark tried to pull a manoeuvre he thought we’d already tried but it was actually Cap he tried it with,” despite himself Clint’s lips curled into a smirk. “Cap had his shield.”

“Ah…” the doctor nodded, his own lips curling up slightly. “Must be interesting running around with those guys.”

Clint scoffed although his smirk pulled into a more genuine smile.

“ _Interesting_ is one word for it,” he agreed although his smile faded slightly as he looked down at the needle in the doctors hands. Despite himself a tired sigh escaped his lips. “So… how long am I gonna be out for this time?”

Doctor Poole paused in preparing the needle and tilted his head, offering the agent in front of him nothing short of a pout.

“Oh come on! You’ve only known me ten minutes… don’t turn me into the bad guy yet,” the doctor let out a sigh of his own as he looked again at Clint’s chest, the archer in turn bowing his head sheepishly. “Look the honest answer is that I don’t know. I can pretty much guarantee no exercise at all for at least a week. And you’re going to have to avoid stretching your chest for at least a couple,” he paused to let that particular point settle in. No stretching of the chest, which meant no stretching of his arms, which meant no bow… “I’m sorry – I know you’re just back in the field,” Cayden glanced up as Clint sighed heavily and the doctor had to suppress a sigh of his own. He really was the bad guy now. “I know it’s hard but…” he paused again as Clint scoffed. Finishing the stitch he was working on the doctor leant back slightly, waiting until the archer looked at him, albeit still scowling. With a faint smirk Cayden pulled the hem away from his shoulder, showing a small scar that Clint instantly recognised as a bullet wound. “I earned myself an extra two months signed off going back into the gym too early after this,” he replaced his neckline and raised the hemline at his waist, showing this time what appeared to be the faint scar of a stab wound. “An extra _six_ months for this one,” his lips curled wryly. “Although that was partly psych. Apparently my inability to follow Doctor’s orders showed a _deep rooted desire for self-harm_.”

Clint rolled his eyes – he may have heard that one before himself. Once or twice. He looked at the doctor before him thoughtfully as the other man in turn returned his attention to stitching up Clint’s chest.

“Unusual wounds for a doctor,” Clint commented. Cayden’s eyebrow arched.

“Medicine’s my back up profession,” he glanced up as he pulled the needle back out of Clint’s skin. “I used to be in the Navy.”

Both of Clint’s brows rose as Cayden looked back down to reposition the needle.

“Navy?”

“SEAL Team five,” the doctor confirmed. Clint blinked.

“You were a Navy SEAL?” he shook his head slightly as Cayden nodded. “How on earth did you end up a doctor for SHIELD then?”

“I eh… I blew out my knee,” came the overly casual reply. Clint flinched slightly – he had obviously hit a nerve – but Cayden carried on quickly. “I knew I’d never get back in the field so I figured I may as well do something useful,” he chuckled quietly, as much to himself as for Clint’s benefit, his voice growing quieter. “Mom and Dad always did want me to become a doctor.”

Clint worried his bottom lip as silence fell. Normally he would have been perfectly happy with the silence but this time he found it… unsettling.

“Must be… well…” Clint frowned slightly, wishing suddenly he had stayed quiet. “ _Different_.”

Another chuckle escaped the doctor but this time it sounded less forced.

“It certainly is,” Cayden nodded, glancing up again briefly with a faint smile. “I can’t complain too much though – at least I had something useful to fall back on. There were two of the other guys who were injured when I was who never got to go back either. I mean a lot of guys find the transition hard even when they _choose_ to leave but at least they can have something lined up you know? One of the guys was married, second child on the way and the other was engaged. The engagement was eventually broken off and last I spoke with Nate the marriage was really on the rocks,” he pulled a face although he never took his eyes off the needle in his hand. “Must be tough. You spend months, _years_ , worrying if he’ll come home alive and then when you get him home – he doesn’t want to be there. Well… not that he _doesn’t_ want to be there…”

“No… I get what you mean,” Clint nodded. “Christ being signed off on medical leave is bad enough even when you know it’s only temporary. I know _I_ drive everyone up the wall,” a faint frown pulled on the archer’s brow. “That would be my worst nightmare… I’m sorry, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want.”

Cayden gave a small shrug.

“Like I say, I’m one of the lucky ones,” another stitch completed. “In more ways than one.”

Clint bowed his head solemnly. He did not need any more details to know that meant that whatever incident had ended the career of three SEALS – it had ended the lives of others.

“Anyway,” Cayden continued in a more upbeat tone. “All I’m saying is that I _do know_ how you feel and I know how tempting it is to rush straight back to the gym. But not only am I your attending physician now but it is also ultimately up to me when all agents get signed off and signed back to work,” another smirk was cast upward. “And I can be a spiteful bastard when I think someone is ignoring me.”

“Ah, right I see,” Clint nodded. “Do as I say not as I do right?”

“Exactly.”

Clint huffed out a quiet chuckle before a scowl took over his face.

“Wait a minute – _you_ sign everyone back to work? _Everyone_? So it’s _your_ fault I was signed off so long last time?”

“Oh no, no, no,” Cayden shook his head fiercely, pausing his hand before continuing with the stitches. “That was your physiotherapist and the other doctors. I could only go by the information I was given.”

“Well they were talking shit.”

Cayden laughed.

“Well I figured that. Even ignoring doctor’s orders your shoulder shouldn’t have taken that long to heal. Unfortunately I was on the other side of the country helping out over there or I’d have come and seen for myself. There. All done.”

Clint blinked in surprise and looked down at his chest as Cayden stepped away again. Sure enough the stitching was finished.

“Oh,” he chuckled quietly. “I barely even noticed that.”

Cayden shrugged.

“Yeah well I guessed you weren’t too keen on needles when I first took it out so I figured keeping you distracted would work,” he smirked and tilted his head slightly. “I picked up the trick working with kids in the ER.”

Clint screwed up his face, bowing his head sheepishly although a faint smile pulled on his lips at the same time.

“Yeah well have you ever seen Doc Tenner trying to do stitches?”

Cayden cringed, returning his equipment to the trolley and picking up bandages instead.

“Oh God, that guy was a disaster.”

Clint laughed.

“One word for him,” he muttered, watching as Cayden wrapped the bandages over the stitches. The doctor looked up with a knowing smirk.

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to keep this dry for twenty four hours and avoid…”

“Avoid prolonged soaking thereafter,” Clint sighed wearily but there was no malice in his expression. “Yeah, heard it once or twice.”

“Figured. You’ll need to come back in and get the dressings changed and…”

“Oh Bruce can do that,” Clint arched an eyebrow as Cayden gave him a dubious look. “You don’t trust me to get him to do it?”

Cayden pursed his lips thoughtfully.

“Fine,” the doctor gave a small nod. “But I want to speak with him.”

“What?” Clint blinked. Cayden smirked.

“I just want to make sure that he’s got dressings to change and make sure that if there is any sign of infection I hear about it.”

“I’ll tell him,” Clint nodded. Cayden crossed his arms and returned an even look.

“Either I tell him myself or you come back in here tomorrow,” the doctor’s eyebrow arched as Clint stubbornly stayed quiet. “I’ve read your file Barton,” an all-out smile broke onto his lips as the silence continued. “I’ve done my fair share of steak outs and recon and I’ve done my time as a sniper. I have the patience of a saint.”

“It’s ok Doc,” a soft female voice drifted over from the door, causing both men to startle slightly. “ _I’ll_ tell Bruce.”

“Tasha,” Clint scowled slightly. “Where the Hell have you been hiding?”

Natasha just flashed him an innocent smile as she turned towards Cayden.

“I hope he hasn’t been too much trouble,” she smiled sweetly. “He’s not good with needles.”

“Tasha!”

Cayden chuckled.

“I’ve dealt with worse,” the doctor smiled. “Very well Agent Romanov. I’ll trust you to tell Doctor Banner.”

“Oh that’s right, trust _her_ …” Clint grumbled although despite himself his lips too curled into a smile. Cayden picked up the file sitting on the sideboard, scribbling some notes before flipping it shut again.

“Come back in a week unless Doctor Banner sees anything to worry about. He can keep an eye on it but I say when the stitches come out – deal?”

“Deal,” Clint agreed with a slight roll of the eyes. Natasha smirked and held up a new shirt.

“Figured we shouldn’t march you through the base topless to take you home,” she commented, not missing the faint twitch of Cayden’s eyebrows at the comment.

“Just be careful,” the doctor managed a schooled expression. “The slightest stretch could pop those stitches.”

Clint’s scowl returned as Natasha stepped toward him. Not only could he not use his bow but he was probably going to need help dressing?

“I’m gonna kill Stark,” he muttered. Finally his shirt was secured around his body without too much cursing from himself.

“Thank you doctor,” Natasha gave Cayden a parting nod and friendly smile.

“No problem Agent Romanov. It was nice to finally meet you. You too Agent Barton,” the doctor would deny his smile widened as it turned to the other agent. “I’ll see you next week.”

“Yeah. Thanks,” Clint gave a small nod and followed Natasha out of the door. The female led him down the corridor towards the admin rooms. Clint rolled his eyes slightly as she quickly and efficiently made an appointment for him to see Doctor Poole the following week.

“You know I could have done that myself,” the archer mumbled as the two headed for the exit.

“You _could_ have yes. My concern is whether or not you _would_ have,” she smiled as Clint screwed up his face. “So… Doctor Poole seems nice.”

Clint rolled his eyes.

“Yeah I guess.”

“Cute too.”

“Don’t start Natasha…”


	3. Chapter 3

“Sarah, darling, next time there is a junior agent with a boo boo _please_ get one of the other doctors to play nanny,” Cayden grumbled as he slipped into the admin office, rubbing a hand over his face wearily. The woman sitting at the desk laughed.

“I’m sorry, you were the only one free.”

Cayden rolled his eyes.

“Of course I was,” he sighed. “So… any disasters I should know about?”

“No disasters no,” Sarah arched an eyebrow. “But there is one Agent Barton sitting waiting in reception for his check-up.”

Cayden blinked.

“Really?” he knew he had threatened the archer during their first meeting and he had in fact received an update from Doctor Banner that morning (and a positive one at that) but he had genuinely expected to have to go hunting for the agent. Sarah smiled.

“Really,” she nodded, handing the doctor the relevant file. “I’ll send him through shall I?”

“Eh… yeah. Yeah exam room two,” the doctor nodded, slipping from the room again. Making his way down the corridor he made his way into said exam room, laying the file down on the desk, tapping his fingers absently on the desktop until he heard a noise behind him. Turning round he offered the agent stepping into the room a warm smile. "Agent Barton," he gestured for the agent to come further into the room as he shut the door behind him. "I thought I was going to have to break out some of my old tracking skills and come and find you going by your file."

Clint chuckled quietly, shrugging a shoulder.

"Yeah, well I came to an understanding with Bruce and Tasha – if I come for this appointment they won’t tell the rest of the guys how bad the cut was.”

“ _Cut_?” Cayden arched an eyebrow although a smirk pulled on his lips. He had called deeper wounds scratches back in his active service… “So the rest of your team don’t know you’re actually signed off duty?”

Clint pulled a face.

“No… I just got signed back when this happened,” he gestured loosely to his chest. “I try not to remind too often that I’m only human,” he looked up and noticed a frown pulling on Cayden’s brow. “Not that _they’ve_ ever made a deal out of it! I mean… they worry but we all worry about each other…” he shrugged sheepishly. “I think that’s more my ego than anything else,” a quiet chuckle escaped his lips. “Or that’s what Natasha keeps saying anyway.”

Cayden nodded understandingly.

“I think that’s understandable,” he commented, smiling before giving his head a small shake. “Anyway,” he gestured to the agent’s chest, taking a deep but subtle breath. “Can I see the damage?”

“Eh, yeah, sure…” Clint carefully removed his shirt, trying not to let the doctor see how little he could move but he figured by the expression on the other man’s face it was not working.

“Different ball game when the adrenaline wears off eh?” the doctor smirked knowingly. Clint chuckled and nodded in agreement. Cayden leant over and inspected the skin. “It’s looking good. How does it feel?”

“Still a bit tight,” Clint admitted. “But it’s getting better.”

Cayden nodded and stood up again.

“Well I’m afraid it’s not quite ready for the stitches to come out yet but I am pleased with how it looks.”

“Yeah, Bruce figured you’d leave the stitches in a while longer,” Clint sighed. Cayden couldn’t help but laugh quietly.

“Hopefully I’ll get them out soon,” the doctor arched an eyebrow. “It means you’re still signed off exercise.”

Clint pursed his lips as he nodded, casting his gaze down to the floor.

“Yeah… Bruce warned me you’d say that too…” he grumbled. Cayden regarding the archer for a moment, frowning slightly at the downturn in mood.

“Come back in a couple of days and if your progress continues we might be able to get those stitches out. It’ll be a start,” the doctor offered a warm smile. “So… have you got any plans for the rest of…” he was cut off by a sharp series of beeps from the computer on the desk. Cayden suppressed a sigh and quickly stepped over to the screen, clicking on an icon in the corner. “Shit. I’m gonna have to cut this short – I have seven agents incoming and they are in bad shape.”

“Oh…” Clint gave a solemn nod. “Well that’s…” he quickly pulled his shirt back on as Cayden quickly clicked a few more buttons. “All the best with that.”

Cayden turned a quick, grateful smile to the agent behind him. He’d heard the stories – Hell he’d seen first-hand the reluctance of his colleagues to treat the archer – he knew Clint no longer had an easy relationship with the rest of SHIELD.

“Come back in a couple of days and we’ll re-assess. If we’re still…” he gestured in the direction of the computer. “Someone will be in touch.”

Clint gave a small nod.

“Sure. I’ll see you in a couple of days then.”

“Goodbye agent,” Cayden offered a parting smile, watching the archer depart before shaking his head and turning back to his computer screen. He had been somewhat looking forward to getting the chance to speak to the archer again – maybe get to know him a little better beyond the initial impression he had got at their first meeting. Maybe next time…

x-x-x

Cayden sighed tiredly as he slumped down at his desk, leaning back and rubbing his hands tiredly over his face.

“Man, have you slept since I was last here?”

A startled laugh escaped Cayden’s throat as he turned and found Clint standing in the doorway. Glancing at the clock he realised that it was indeed time for the agent’s scheduled check-up. Where had the day gone?

“Not much,” the doctor admitted, gesturing for the agent to come into the room. “Do I really look that bad?”

Clint shrugged, a faint smirk pulling on his lips as he shut the door behind him.

“I’ve seen worse,” Clint regarded the doctor briefly. “Look, I can come back if you’re still…”

“No, no it’s fine,” Cayden pulled himself to his feet. “Everyone is stable and everything is under control. Albeit just as of an hour ago.”

Clint nodded.

“As long as you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Cayden smiled. “So, are you still following doctor’s orders and behaving yourself?”

“Of course,” Clint replied with mock offence. Cayden chuckled.

“Good. Let’s see if we can get these stitches out then. How’s it feeling?”

“Not so tight,” Clint replied as he pulled off his t-shirt. Cayden nodded, indeed the archer did appear to be moving easier than he had the other day. Stepping closer the doctor knelt down and visually examined the stitching.

“Well it’s definitely much better,” he agreed, gently pulling at the skin either side of the stitches at the top of the wound. “Can you take a deep breath in for me?” he watched carefully as the archer’s chest expanded, watching as the skin pulled tight across where the stitches held together. “Great, and again?” his gaze followed the line of torn tissue down to the bottom stitches, a slight frown pulling on his brow. Again he carefully pulled at the skin either side. “I’m not sure about these bottom few.”

Clint let out a sigh.

“Well that makes two of you,” he screwed up his nose as Cayden looked up at him inquisitively. “Bruce figured you’d probably want to leave them in a couple more days just to be safe.”

“Well that saves me from having to break the bad news to you,” Cayden stood back up and smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry, I know you want to get back to normal as soon as possible.”

Clint shrugged.

“Not your fault,” he replied moving to put his t-shirt back on. Cayden could not help but snatch one last look before the archer re-dressed. With a small shake of the head he refocused his attention but before he could think of a suitable way to start a new conversation he was interrupted.

“Good afternoon doctor Poole,” a bellowing voice came suddenly from the door. Both Cayden and Clint looked up to see Director Fury waltz into the room, attention focused on a file in his hand. “I… oh,” Fury in turn looked up and noticed the doctor was not alone, blinking in surprise when he registered who else was there. His lips curled up slightly at the edges. “I’m sorry doctor, I looked in your schedule and saw that you had Agent Barton and presumed you would be free,” he arched an eyebrow at the doctor. “Did you drug him?”

Cayden barked out a laugh.

“Who says it’s not my pleasant, easy going personality and impeccable bedside manner that got him to turn up for an appointment?”

It was Fury’s turn to bark out a laugh.

“Did you or did you not yesterday tell an agent to _man up_ and that you had completed over half of a two week mission with a worse wound than he had?”

Cayden looked back at Fury with an even expression, his face giving nothing away. Finally he shrugged.

“I actually told him to grow a pair.”

Fury chuckled – as did Clint although he hid that from the director.

“I knew there was a reason I hired you,” he smirked, glancing at Clint. “I’m sorry I interrupted,” a serious expression was turned back to the doctor. “Can you come and see me as soon as you’re done please? I would like a report on the last few days.”

Cayden suppressed a sigh. So much for getting some much needed sleep…

“It’s ok, we were just finishing,” he admitted, albeit reluctantly. “If you want to just wait in my office I’ll be through in a minute.”

Fury gave a curt nod and turned on his heel, offering Clint a quick nod also before disappearing out the door. Cayden turned an apologetic smile back to Clint, the archer in turn raising an eyebrow back at him.

“That sounds like it’s gonna be fun,” he commented. Cayden rolled his eyes.

“Oh no doubt,” he agreed. “So… if you come back in a couple of days we can see how we’re looking and…” the doctor paused to stifle a yawn. The adrenaline that had fuelled him for the last couple of days really was starting to wear off now. “Sorry. Hopefullyget those stitches out.”

Clint arched an eyebrow.

“And hopefully you’ll be more awake when you’re doing it,” he commented in a dry tone but Cayden noticed the amusement in his eyes, unable to keep himself from smiling back at the archer.

“Here’s hoping,” he agreed. Clint returned the smile before heading for the door and Cayden found himself suppressing a wistful sigh. Now was not the time to ponder his disappointment that his time with the other man had been cut short.


	4. Chapter 4

A hearty laugh escaped Clint’s lips as Cayden just smirked from his crouched position in front of the agent. Clint inhaled deeply, trying to stifle his chuckles.

“Sorry – I’m supposed to be sitting still aren’t I?” the archer stilled his body although his eyes still sparkled with amusement, his lips still curled in a smile. Cayden shrugged absently, not making any attempt to continue with the removal of the archer’s stitches.

“Well I was trying to make you laugh,” he admitted, giving the other man’s face a quick study. “Ok. Most amusing undercover mission?”

Clint chuckled quietly.

“Classified,” he replied. Cayden tutted and shook his head, leaning forward and continuing to work on the remaining stitches.

“Wimp,” he muttered, although it was laced with humour. The two had been exchanging stories for the whole appointment without sacrificing any classified information or intricate details of the missions in question. “Fine. Most ridiculous location you’ve had to stake out waiting for a shot?”

The two continued to exchange anecdotes as Cayden finished off the last of the stitches. Leaning back he checked his work as Clint finished off his latest story – and if he quickly admired the bare chest in front of him could anyone really blame him? The doctor nodded understandingly at the end of Clint’s tale, shifting onto a nearby seat and sharing his own related experiences. It was at least ten minutes later that a quiet buzz came from the phone sitting on the doctor’s desk.

“Shit, sorry,” Cayden leant over and picked up the receiver. “Doctor Poole.” “Hi Doctor, sorry to bother you,” the familiar voice of the administrative assistant drifted through the phone. “Doctor Green is needing a second opinion on one of the agents from the Kabul mission and he was wondering if you were free?”

Cayden sighed internally, pulling a face into the phone before glancing over his shoulder.

“I’m just finishing off here, tell him I’ll be there in five,” he replied, hanging up and turning back to Clint. “Well I guess I’ll have to hear the end of that story next appointment,” the doctor stood and handed Clint back his shirt, albeit with a reluctant internal sigh. “Everything’s looking good. You can start back on gentle exercise – jogging and light stretches but no gym equipment, no firearms and no bow,” he offered an apologetic smile to the screwed up face. “Sorry,” Cayden turned back to the computer and quickly typed in some notes as Clint simply nodded. “Come back again in three days and hopefully we’ll be able to change that.”

The archer gave the doctor a quick salute, offering a small smile before he turned and slipped quietly from the room. Cayden stood for a moment, watching as the other man left and continuing to stare at the door for a couple of minutes after he was gone. With a shake of the head he refocused his attention, stepping toward the door himself to go and see what his colleague needed help with.

x-x-x

“You up for a jog?”

Natasha looked up from the book in her hand with an arched eyebrow, narrowing her eyes slightly at the archer standing in the doorway.

“You got your stitches out then?” she asked, a knowing smile pulling on her lips. Clint gave a small nod, lifting his shirt as he stepped forward further into the room. Natasha placed her book down on the sofa next to her and leant forward, eyebrow arching further as she examined the wound, her fingers reaching out to lightly trace the line down Clint’s chest. “That doctor of yours did a good job.”

“Yeah, the scar is going to be faint,” Clint agreed casually, letting his shirt fall back down. Natasha looked up at the archer’s face, studying him closely.

“Any interruptions today?” she asked, sitting back in her chair.

“No. Well, not till well after the stitches were out.”

Natasha’s brow rose slightly again.

“ _Well after_ the stitches were out?”

“Yeah, we were swapping war stories,” Clint shrugged absently and while Natasha rolled her eyes slightly she refrained from rolling her whole head toward the ceiling in despair. There was no use in trying to point out the archer clearly had a soft spot for his doctor – all that would achieve would be an overly defensive Clint who would likely stop going to is appointments. Hopefully the doctor – who had seemed quite taken with the archer during their first meeting – was not so… emotionally stunted.

“Come on then,” the female pulled herself to her feet. “You said something about going for a jog?”

x-x-x

A tired sigh escaped Cayden’s lips as he made his way down the corridor, stepping into the administrative office and dropping a stack of files onto one of the desks.

“Doctor Poole!” a voice came from the doorway and Cayden flinched in an overly exaggerated manner. “What are you still doing here?”

The doctor offered the woman in the doorway a sweet smile.

“Busy?”

Sarah rolled her eyes and picked up the files Cayden had just dropped.

“You need a girlfriend,” she commented lightly, smiling at the confused expression that pulled on Cayden’s face. “Maybe if you had someone to go home to you might actually _go home_.”

“Oh, right,” Cayden smiled albeit a little uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, my mom keeps telling me pretty much the same thing. Although her version involves grandkids.”

Sarah laughed as Cayden shuddered dramatically.

“Well in the meantime have a nice evening,” she smiled. “Anything planned?”

Cayden shrugged.

“Think I might hit the gym actually.”

Sarah rolled her eyes.

“How many hours have you just worked?” she shook her head, not waiting for a reply although she did offer a parting smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow doctor.”

“See you tomorrow,” Cayden returned a nod as the female slipped into the back office with the files. Left alone the doctor bowed his head briefly, worrying his bottom lip for a moment before turning and leaving the room. A good run on the treadmill would hopefully clear his mind…

x-x-x

A quiet curse escaped Cayden’s lips as he leant back from leaning over looking at his laptop, rubbing his hands over his face as he let out a tired sigh.

“That bad?”

The scowl lifted as a smile instantly pulled at the doctor’s lips. Schooling his expression he turned to the agent standing in the doorway.

“That bad,” he nodded, spinning his chair round to face the archer as Clint stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “Some fruit bat has gone and fucked up the rotas.”

Clint chuckled as he hopped up onto the examination table at the side of the room.

“Why do I get the feeling _fruit bat_ wasn’t your first choice of phrase?”

Cayden grinned.

“It was a little more colourful last night,” he admitted. Reaching over the desk he picked up a file and turned back to Clint. Slowly – carefully – he pulled himself to his feet, using his free hand to pick up a cane which he then leant on heavily. Clint’s eyes widened slightly and he had to fight the urge to jump back down off the table.

“What happened?” he frowned. Cayden pursed his lips, offering a sheepish look to the archer as he hobbled toward him.

“I eh… over did it in the gym the other day,” he admitted, laying the file down next to Clint. The archer rolled his eyes.

“Ah right, yeah. Do as I say and not as I do right?”

“Exactly,” Cayden gave a definitive nod but his lips curled into a smile. “Besides, I’m not under doctor’s orders anymore.”

“Right, of course,” Clint smirked. Cayden chuckled quietly, shrugging absently.

“What about you? Have you been doing as your told?”

“No firearms, no equipment and no bow,” Clint confirmed although his face scrunched up. “Unfortunately since Tony really wanted me to try out the new arrows he had made this morning.”

“Ooooo…” Cayden pursed his lips. “How did you wriggle out of that one?”

“I didn’t,” Clint sighed. “I had to ‘fess up. Tony looked so guilty.”

Cayden smiled sympathetically.

“Well let’s see if we can let you use those new arrows, hmmm?” he gestured to the agent’s shirt. “How’s it been feeling?”

“Great,” Clint nodded genuinely. “Me and Tasha have been for a jog every day and I’ve felt fine.”

Cayden nodded as he inspected the healing skin, leaning forward awkwardly on the cane. Indeed it was healing better than he could have hoped. It would probably only be one more appointment before he could sign the agent back to full duty he realised with a pang of disappointment.

“Well it’s looking good,” he nodded, standing back up straight, flinching slightly as a sharp pain rippled through his knee. Clint frowned in concern but Cayden waved it off. “You’re still signed off duty for another week but as long as you ease yourself back in gently you can go back to full exercise,” the doctor could not help but smile at the grin that lit up the archer’s lips. “I hope those new arrows are fun.”

“Oh I’m sure they will be,” Clint pulled his shirt back into place. “I hope your knee feels better soon.”

Cayden pulled a face.

“Well you are my last patient today so my plan is to go home and pop enough pain killers to KO me for at least twenty-four hours.”

Clint screwed up his nose.

“That bad huh?” he smiled sympathetically. If Cayden was anything like him – and from what the doctor had said about his run-ins with medics when he was still in the Navy it sounded like he was – it must be pretty damn sore for him to be resorting to strong painkillers. Cayden’s lips curled up wryly.

“It’s a little nippy,” he admitted. He was not going to mention that usually when his knee was sore it brought back the nightmares of… “Have fun playing with your new arrows.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Clint smiled with another of his small salutes. “See you next week doc.”

“Yeah,” Cayden suppressed a sigh. “See you next week.”


	5. Chapter 5

Cayden pursed his lips as he drummed his fingers lightly on his desk, eyes scanning over the notes on the screen in front of him. Unless Agent Barton had been seriously misbehaving and ignoring his instructions then he would almost certainly get signed back to full duty when he arrived for his appointment in an hour or so. On the plus side that did mean that the archer would no longer be a patient of his which did take the whole doctor/patient ethics out of the equation but Cayden was still undecided whether or not it really made any difference.

He himself was under no illusions that he had found the agent physically attractive from their first meeting – a point he was sure Agent Romanov had noticed. He had also found himself warming to the archer’s wry humour during that initial meeting and warming further still as time went on. The meetings may have been short but it had been a long time since Cayden had been able to talk so easily with someone and he could not deny the disappointed feeling at the thought that he was not going to be in regular contact with Clint from today.

All that being said Cayden was none the wiser as to how to deal with any of it. He was still none the wiser as to where _Clint_ stood. Sure they obviously got along – he had managed to make the archer smile and laugh several times over their meetings which going by the things he had heard before meeting Clint was no mean feat – but he had absolutely no idea if there was any chance for anything further. The archer had given no indication one way or the other as to whether he would be interested in other men but then Cayden never had been any good at second guessing other men’s intentions – he had always just waited for them to make a move on him. _Gaydar_ was a concept completely lost on the doctor.

Cayden glanced at the time in the corner of the computer screen. Clint would be there in just under an hour for is appointment and then Cayden only had a further hour and a half to work before he was off for the night, not due back in until the next morning. He had nothing scheduled after Agent Barton’s check-up and God knows he had worked enough overtime recently that he could probably get away with leaving early – provided he keep a pager on him in case of emergencies but he tended to do that regardless. He could always ask what the archer had planned for the rest of the day, maybe suggest they go and grab a bite to eat somewhere… maybe go for a drink…

With a tired sigh Cayden shut down the file and stood from his desk, pausing briefly to make sure he had not pulled his knee funny sitting too long but everything felt fine. Heading for the door he made his way down the corridor towards the doctor’s lounge. He’d worry about it all later…

x-x-x

"Well Agent Barton you are officially signed back on duty," Cayden announced, signing the relevant form and holding it up for Clint's benefit. The archer clapped his hands together.

“Thanks doc," he grinned. Cayden inhaled deeply as he turned away from the archer briefly to lay his file on his desk. Turning back he offered Clint a warm smile.

“Please, call me Cayden,” he screwed up his nose slightly. “I’m still not used to being _Doctor_.”

Clint chuckled quietly.

“Thanks _Cayden_ ,” he smirked. “I guess you’d better call me Clint then.”

Cayden gave a small nod, leaning back against his desk with arms crossed, regarding the archer quickly.

“Well, I guess we’re done for today,” he commented lightly, pausing briefly as he bit his lip thoughtfully, mind no more made up than it had been that morning. His mouth opened and shut quickly before he suddenly spoke up again. “Just come in next week for a follow up and we’ll be all done.”

Clint blinked in surprise.

“Follow up?” he asked, eyebrow arched. Cayden took a deep breath, ready to offer some sort of explanation but instead let out a quiet but relieved sigh as Clint laughed. “Sorry, usually your colleagues sign me back early, kick me out and then pray someone else has to deal with me next time.”

Cayden chuckled.

“I have been told I’m a glutton for punishment before,” he smirked. Clint laughed and nodded.

“I’ve been told something similar,” the archer quirked an eyebrow, making his way toward the door. “I’ll see you at the follow up Doctor Cayden.”

Cayden simply gave a nod as the archer departed, mentally shaking his head at himself in despair. There really was no reason for a follow up appointment.

Well. No _medical_ reason…

x-x-x

“Doctor Cayden.”

Cayden’s eyebrow arched, lips curling into a smile as he turned toward the source of the voice behind him.

“Agent Clint,” he replied with a small nod. Clint smirked at the large pile of paperwork on the doctor’s desk.

“Busy day?” he asked, closing the door behind him and stepping further into the room.

“It was,” Cayden quickly finished the note he was in the middle of writing, shutting the file with a flourish and dumping it on top of the rest. “But you are my last appointment of the day…” and was he not grateful to Sarah for scheduling that? “…and then for seventy-two hours I am not a doctor.”

“Seventy-two hours?” Clint laughed. “You’ll be bored. And/or you’ll kill your knee again in the gym.”

Despite himself Cayden let out a quiet chuckle, giving a small nod of acknowledgement.

“You might be right,” he conceded. Clint held his arms out openly.

“Well then, you’ll be wanting to get this over with right?”

Cayden’s eyebrow quirked ever so faintly but he managed to return a composed expression.

“You know the drill,” he replied, gesturing towards the examination table, picking up the heart rate monitor as he followed. “Everything been feeling ok?”

“Never better,” Clint confirmed.

“Good,” Cayden cast his eyes down toward the archer’s shirt. “And how’s my handiwork looking?”

Clint lifted his shirt to let the doctor inspect the healing skin.

“Looks like it’s gonna look better than some of my other scars,” he commented. Cayden bit back a comment – somehow – about what a shame it would have been to see that chest marred.

“What can I say? I’m just that good.”

“Modest too,” Clint rolled his eyes, letting his shirt fall down back over his chest, holding out his arm instead for the blood pressure check he knew was to come. With a cocky smirk Cayden quickly progressed with a standard basic physical.

"Right. Everything's looking like it should so I guess we're done," Cayden could not help but frown slightly as he turned to drop Clint's file on the top of the stack on his desk. He turned back to see Clint just nod. "So… any plans for the evening?" he asked casually. Clint shrugged.

"Nah. Might head to the tower - Tony said he might have more arrows ready to try but..."

Cayden nodded as Clint shrugged again. Taking a deep breath he crossed his arms and leant back against his desk casually.

"There's this great little pizza place not too far from here, if you wanna go grab something to eat? Don’t know about you but I’m starving."

Clint blinked in surprise, his own arms crossing over his chest although it looked more defensive than casual.

"Eh... I don't think that's a good idea," he replied quietly, eyes casting downwards. "You don't want to be seen hanging around with me."

It was Cayden's turn to blink. The initial pang of disappointment faded into optimism however as he studied the archer. 

"Because of the Loki thing?" Cayden’s eyebrow arched as Clint flinched slightly. He may have started a couple of months after the Chitauri invasion but of course he had heard all about it. “You think I’m gonna hold that against you?”

“People do,” Clint shrugged, still not looking up. Cayden exhaled quietly through his nose, uncrossing his arms and standing up straight.

“Look I graduated med school less than a year ago and Director Fury took me on as head of trauma,” Cayden offered a meek smile as Clint finally glanced up. “There are doctors now working under me with a helluva lot more medical experience than me – and a lot of years here at SHIELD. And one of the first things I did when I started was sign several agents who had been injured on the hellicarrier back to work who had been signed off for far longer than was actually necessary. Do you think I’m popular around here?” his smile widened slightly as Clint tilted his head. “I’m a big boy Clint, I don’t care what the other kids say behind my back in the playground.”

To Cayden’s relief Clint let out a quiet chuckle, lifting his head completely although his expression was still uncertain.

“I don’t know…” the archer’s nose screwed up slightly.

“Oh come on,” the doctor smirked, shrugging a shoulder. “You’ll be saving me from probably getting bored with shit television and resorting to reading medical journals and researching obscure viruses.”

Clint’s face screwed up further as he let out a long sigh.

“Well I suppose we can’t have you spending your precious seventy-two hours off doing research can we?” the agent relented, his expression lightening into a faint smile as Cayden tried not to grin too widely. “Pizza sounds good actually.”

“Great,” Cayden smiled, turning and picking up the stack of files on his desk. “Just let me drop these off in admin and off we go.”


	6. Chapter 6

Clint chuckled heartily, shaking his head as he took a swig out of his beer bottle.

“There is no way that you did that.”

Cayden smirked.

“Hand on heart,” he replied earnestly, holding his hand over his chest. Clint arched an eyebrow dubiously although his lips still quirked into a smile. Shaking his head again he glanced around the bar the two had ended up in after grabbing their pizza. They were not too far from the SHIELD base but apparently they were far enough that there appeared to be no other agents there.

“This place is nice,” he commented. “How did you find it?”

“I have an apartment not far from here,” Cayden replied. “Not that I use it much. I have a room back at the base – it’s much easier when I’ve just got a few hours between shifts. I just like having somewhere I can go when I’ve got longer off,” he tilted his head sheepishly. “It’s far enough away that I won’t be tempted to just go and check up on anything but close enough that I know if shit hits the fan I can be back there in a decent time.”

Clint too tilted his head.

“Are you suggesting you might be a bit of a workaholic?” the archer shook his head as Cayden scoffed out a laugh, shrugging both shoulders innocently as he took a sip of his bourboun. “That’ll be one of the reasons Fury likes you. The other being that apparently you tell your patients to grow a pair when they’re being babies,” Clint’s brow furrowed inquisitively. “How on earth did you end up at SHIELD anyway?”

Cayden smirked, leaning back against the cushioned booth seat.

“I was just about to finish my residency in Seattle. There was this horrific accident at a local construction sight – we had dozens of guys coming in and most of them were a real mess,” Cayden could not help but frown slightly. “It was all hands on deck. A lot of the more experienced docs were in surgery and I… may… have started bossing some of the other interns about. And I outright over-ruled one of the attendings and got a patient into theatre ahead of their guy.”

Clint frowned slightly.

“Did you not get into a shit-ton of trouble for that?”

“No actually. The guy that was scheduled for surgery wasn’t that critical but the guy I pushed in was on the verge of bleeding out internally,” Cayden bowed his head briefly, taking another sip of his drink. “I’d done enough triage out in the field… I just had a feeling,” the doctor inhaled deeply and looked back up, expression lightening. “Anyway, when things finally calmed down a little I took five minutes out just to go and rehydrate and next thing I know a guy in a big black coat with an eye-patch appeared saying he was impressed with what he’d seen and offering me an interview the next day” Cayden gave a one shoulder shrug. “God only knows what Fury was doing in Seattle.”

Clint nodded slowly.

“He’d probably been monitoring you for a while,” he commented, taking another swig of beer. Cayden arched an eyebrow, finishing his bourbon.

“Probably.”

Clint smiled.

“Well you obviously impressed him at the interview before he made you his _chief of trauma_.”

Cayden screwed up his nose slightly.

“I actually told him not to be so stupid – there was no way I was going to an interview when there were dozens of patients who were still gonna be critical needing taken care of.”

Clint blinked before his lips curled into a grin.

“And _that_ is why Fury made you chief of trauma,” he held up his drink in a sort of toast and proceeding to finish the bottle. Tilting the empty bottle towards Cayden’s empty glass he arched an eyebrow. “You want another?”

“Sure,” Cayden nodded, watching as Clint picked up the empty glass and took it and his beer bottle back up to the bar, unable to help the smile spreading onto his lips. He was actually having a great time but therein lay its own problem. Was that a sign that it was safe to make a move on Clint? Or a sign to leave things as they were? Cayden quite liked the idea of having a friend around SHIELD. He got on fine enough with most of his colleagues - even if some of them resented his higher position - and he had got to know some of the other agents during treatment or meeting them in the gym. It had been a long time since he'd had someone he could talk to this easily though. Maybe he should just quash what was probably little more than a crush and not risk the agent's friendship...

He forced the thoughts from his head as Clint returned, smiling a thank you as the agent took his seat and slipped his glass across the table to him.

"So have you served on a submarine?" Clint asked. Cayden arched an eyebrow.

"I did a couple of rotations on subs before I joined the SEALS yeah," he nodded. Clint screwed up his nose.

"How the hell did you not go crazy?"

Cayden barked out a laugh.

"Are you not fed up of navy stories yet?" he asked with a faint quirk of the eyebrow. He really hoped the answer was no of course - having enlisted straight from school he did not really have many stories that did _not_ involve the navy.

"Are you kidding?" Clint smiled although the smile faded suddenly. "Shit, sorry if you don't want to talk about it then..."

"Oh no I'm happy to talk about it," Cayden interrupted although his face screwed up slightly. "Well some of it."

Clint held up a hand in an understanding gesture. It really went without saying. For every interesting/funny/entertaining work story Clint had in his arsenal there was at least one dark story of missions gone wrong. The archer had seen one bullet scar and one stabbing scar on the doctor and he doubted that they were his only ones.

“The sub didn’t bother me at the time, I always had something to do,” Cayden continued, swirling the dark liquid in his glass absently as he shrugged. “Don’t know that I would sign up to go back on one though. Much preferred the boats.”

Clint nodded, deciding not to comment that boats only held a little more appeal than a sub. He really was not that comfortable around water…

Cayden took a sip of his drink as a short but comfortable silence fell over the two.

“I think you have an admirer,” Clint’s voice cut into Cayden’s absent thoughts. Blinking he looked up to find Clint regarding him… thoughtfully? The look was gone before Cayden could figure it out though as the archer tilted his head toward the bar. Cayden glanced over and sure enough found a brunette woman sitting sipping a cocktail looking back in their direction. Returning a meek but polite smile Cayden returned his attention back to the man opposite him.

“Not my type,” the doctor shrugged. Clint arched an eyebrow.

“You can tell that from one quick glance?”

Cayden let out a wry laugh, taking a swig from his drink.

“Not my gender,” he specified, eyes fixed on the table for a moment before he chanced a glance up.

“Oh,” Clint blinked in surprise before chuckling, raising his beer bottle to his lips. “Well in that case she certainly is not your type.”

Cayden laughed softly, perhaps a little nervously, taking another drink himself as he studied the archer at the table with him.

“In fact I have a confession to make,” the doctor leant forward slightly although he could not quite bring himself to make eye contact with the other man. “I didn’t really need to do a follow up today. I just wanted an excuse to see you with your shirt off one more time.”

Cayden chanced a glance up, finding Clint’s eyes widened slightly. Quickly the doctor looked down again, opening his mouth as he tried to think of a way to salvage the situation but Clint spoke up before he could.

“Well that’s not fair,” the archer’s casual sounding tone brought Cayden’s gaze back up. Clint blinked and swallowed before continuing with a faint quirk of the eyebrow. “What excuse have I got to see you without your shirt on?”

Cayden’s lips curled slowly into a grin.

“Who says you need an excuse?” he titled his head slightly. “My apartment’s only a two minute walk from here,” Cayden offered a small shrug. “Just say the word and you can see me without any item of clothing you want.”

Clint visibly swallowed but gave a confident nod, gesturing to the exit to the booth.

“After you.”

x-x-x

The door to Cayden’s apartment had barely clicked shut behind him when the doctor grabbed a hold of Clint’s wrist, pulling the archer back toward him. Pushing him up against the wall he captured the archer’s lips in a heated, passionate kiss, moaning as Clint’s hands snaked around his waist pulling him closer still.

“Hmmm… you know I’ve been thinking of this since the first time you appeared in my exam room,” Cayden murmured as the two parted for air. Clint blinked in surprise.

“Really?”

Cayden chuckled at the faint colour creeping up the archer’s cheeks.

“Really,” he confirmed, leaning into another kiss and running his hands down Clint’s back, slipping his hands around the hem of the archer’s shirt.

“Nuh uh,” Clint pulled away slightly, laughing at the slightly panicked look that flitted over Cayden’s face. Tugging at the other man’s shirt he arched an eyebrow. “You first.”

Cayden’s lips curled back up as he pulled away enough to grab onto the hem of his shirt – pleasantly surprised when the other man’s hands did not let go but moved from his side down to his hips – and pulled the shirt over his head, dropping it casually over his shoulder. Clint ran his eyes over the bare skin in front of him, grinning quickly before pulling Cayden back into a bruising kiss.

“Bedroom?” Cayden murmured against Clint’s lips. The initial response was another kiss, followed by a rather breathless;

“Lead the way…”

x-x-x

Cayden’s eyes closed slowly, lingering shut for longer than they had before. They snapped open again as he felt the bed dip beside him. Rolling his head to the side he watched as Clint pulled himself into a sitting position. Reaching his arm out slowly he brushed his fingers over the archer’s arm, arching an eyebrow inquisitively as Clint turned his head back toward him.

“I… have an early start tomorrow,” the other man explained, shuffling off the bed as Cayden offered a small nod. The doctor watched quietly as Clint gathered up his clothes and started to redress, worrying his bottom lip for a moment before rolling out the other side of the bed, quickly pulling his own trousers back on. Rounding the bed he met the archer just as finished dressing.

“I had a good time tonight,” he admitted, closing the small distance between them. Leaning forward he slipped a hand onto the archer’s side, pulling him into a quick but tender kiss, running his free hand down Clint’s chest as he bowed his head briefly, missing the panic flicker in Clint’s eyes. “You know if you’re… _bored_ or… anything…” he looked back up, forcing a smile to cover the anxiousness he was feeling. “You know where to find me.”

Clint gave a small nod, returning a smile.

“Yeah.”

Cayden’s smile widened. Leaning forward quickly he brushed his lips over Clint’s one last time, letting his hand slip from the archer’s side, leading him to the front door and opening it.

“Goodnight.”

“Night,” Clint replied with one last smile before slipping out the open door. Smiling contentedly the doctor shut the door slowly, flicking the lock and turning back toward his bedroom…

Completely oblivious to the panicked expression that Clint now wore and unaware that it would be several weeks before he would see the archer again.


End file.
